Ready for the "because we don't have enough stress in our lives" story of the night?
Our cats killed a bat. In the house.
And there's that whole bats-rabies thing.
And oh yeah, our cats haven't had their vaccinations since before Sammy was born because oh, I don't know - they're 100% indoor cats and we've been a tad bit preoccupied?
We don't know who did the killing (or really, maiming - it seems to have kicked the bucket about an hour after the attack). We were in the living room with a sleeping Sammy when we heard this awful squeal and Max took off for the stairs. When we went to investigate, the bat was on one step with Princess on the step above it and Max on the step below it, both looking at it inquisitively. We're not sure if Princess caught it on the stairs or if Max caught it in the foyer by Sammy's toys and carried up the stairs, but either way - there it was, fairly lifeless and potentially rabid.
Jay scooped it up with a stiff newspaper and dumped it into a vase. I had my momentary sobfest for the poor little creature (because I absolutely adore bats), and then reality sunk in - my cats could have rabies.
My cats could have rabies.
And it's all my fault. Why didn't I have them vaccinated?!?
(Oh yeah, they're 100% indoor cats and we've been a tad bit preoccupied. Now it's very clear that that's no excuse.)
And while Sammy was nowhere near the bats or the cats (who are now quarantined), I'm terrified that something could happen to him. And I'm having awful visions of shots to his tummy, because he hasn't been through enough. But what if it was in the house while he napped? What about the fact that it was potentially on the carpet near his toys? Do I throw out all those toys? How to I clean the carpet where it was? What if he was bit while he was playing earlier and we just didn't know? Some sites I read said you could be bit and not know it. Ugh ugh ugh. Make my brain stop.
But it gets worse - now the imagination runs amok. Is my (sudden onset) headache a result of a bite I don't remember getting because the bat's been in the house for days and we just haven't seen it and now I have rabies? (Or is it simply because I've been clenching my jaw for the past two hours?) I'm telling you, I am not the person to have around in a situation like this. I've already mentally cleared our calendar for Monday and have figured out the weekend calls to the pediatrician and doctors. Seriously.
What has happened: we have a call in to Animal Control (actually, it's in at the police station who put it in to Animal Control, who is apparently out on a dog bite call). We'll get a call sometime tonight, they'll come take the bat from his final resting place in the vase (and the poor, beautiful wedding-gift vase will never see the light of day again) and test it for rabies and we'll know in 24-48 hours what the next steps will be.
Pray that the poor thing simply wandered through a hole somewhere and came face to face in an unfair match against two cats who are surprisingly good at the attack thing, having never spent any real amount of time outside. Please - send "no rabies" vibes to our house, because if it comes back positive and we're faced with all sorts of scary and unhappy things like shots and putting the cats down, I might go to a happy place far away in my brain and refuse to come back.
(Edited: Jay seems to think that the cats got a series of two rabies shots - some sort of "super shot" making them vaccinated for 4-5 years, which means that they're okay. I vaguely remember this as well. I can't find the paperwork, but we can call the vet in the morning. This sucks.)
My name is erika-renee, but call me eka - pronounced "eh-ka." I'm suddenly somehow 32, though I still love pigtails and overalls and silly, happy things. I live north of Boston, and I'm happily married to 
I'm a mama!
